Hear a Heart, Have a Heart: Einstein's 2013 Stethoscope Ceremony

This year’s annual Stethoscopes for First-Year Students: Becoming a Doctor ceremony was held on September 9, 2013, in Robbins Auditorium. The event, held annually, serves to introduce first-year medical students to a critical tool used in physical diagnosis that truly connects them with patients, while providing them with that tool – their stethoscopes, which are donated by Einstein alumni.

The evening’s program featured inspirational words offered by notable faculty members, including Dr. Felise Milan, professor of clinical medicine and director of the Introduction to Clinical Medicine (ICM) course; Dr. Martha Grayson, senior associate dean of medical education and professor of clinical medicine; Dr. Martin Cohen, professor of medicine; and Dr. Mimi McEvoy, associate professor of clinical family & social medicine and of pediatrics, and co-director of the ICM for second-year students.

The ceremony’s keynote speaker was Dr. Janina Galler, a member of Einstein’s Alumni Board of Governors and of the Class of 1972. Dr. Galler discussed how much Einstein has grown since her time as a student, noting that there were only 117 students in her graduating class, with very few women; in comparison, nearly half the Class of 2017’s 183 members are women. "What has remained the same is the message behind the experience of receiving the stethoscope," she said. "Those receiving stethoscopes then and now were and are at the service of the individuals they call patients."

Dr. Galler recalled racing home, ecstatic to show her parents her stethoscope upon getting it, despite not knowing how to use it correctly yet. She also recollected the first time she heard a fetal heartbeat using her stethoscope as one of the most remarkable experiences in her life. She went on to explain that what makes the stethoscope so important is that it is a concrete connection between doctor and patient, and a tool not only for listening, but for learning as well.

Following the ceremony’s conclusion, the Class of 2017 received their stethoscopes, eager for the next leg of their journey learning about caring for patients.

Keynote speaker, Dr. Janina Galler, a member of Einstein’s Alumni Board of Governors and of the Class of 1972.